On Display
by Sleep Vitamin
Summary: Something so small and unexpected brought them closer than they'd ever been, both physically and emotionally. She needed his comfort and, well, he needed something he'd been longing for his entire life. FreyaxAmarant one-shot.


**Hello! Well, this is my first FreyaxAmarant ANYTHING. I want to give inspiration credit to a picture I found on tumblr (not sure what the original source is), _Almost Lover_ by A Fine Frenzy, _18th Floor Balcony_ by Blue October, and _You Are Mine_ by Mute Math.**

**Any kind of feedback is welcomed and appreciated! Enjoy!**

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There was absolutely nothing she could do. Even if she wanted to get up, leave the strange protection of these arms, and go find him, it wouldn't change a thing. One could only do so much before it becomes futile.

Her grey eyes traced the skin that had been pressed against hers for so many hours now. A part of it rose and fell in rhythm with his deep breaths. He wasn't sleeping, she knew that much with no doubts. Neither of them even dared to. Besides, they _were_ on dangerous terms with each other. They always had been, ever since their meeting three years ago.

Had it really been that long? She still hadn't seen his eyes. Not once.

Freya's thin tail wrapped around her own left thigh. The light touch on her bare skin caused a shiver throughout her entire body. A large pale hand found it's way to the small of her back and pressed her closer.

"Cold?" Amarant's deep voice asked.

"I-I shall be fine," she answered.

They both knew that was a lie, the worst lie she could possibly tell at a time like this. She wasn't fine. That was why they were in the spot they were in: laid up in a bed in a Lindblum inn, naked, and pressed together so tightly that if one were to leave, the other would feel as if a necessary body part was missing.

His head turned, scarlet dreadlocks falling to the side, and he placed his nose against her white hair. Her ears folded back against her head in such a way that would make her seem menacing.

Amarant knew, though, that at the moment, she was the exact opposite of such a thing.

The second she hobbled toward him in the crowded streets, her ears drooped low, her tail dragging on the dirty ground, and fell into his sturdy body, he knew she couldn't hurt him even if she tried.

"That's it," she had whispered. "I cannot try any harder. He has forgotten about me entirely, Amarant. A new woman occupies his life."

How she found him in Lindblum of all kingdoms, he had no clue. That wasn't the point, though. The point was that the woman so hell bent on destroying his emotions and possibly his entire being needed him. After all, out of every single person they both knew, she chose him.

Nothing had occurred. Clothes were abandoned for reasons still hazy for both of them. The action seemed required. She just couldn't get close enough with fabric creating a wall. Close protection, that was what she needed.

There was no humility in it. Amarant didn't put in the effort to hide his tattoos obtained over the years and Freya refused to hide the scars that tore her skin. There was no use in hiding their bodies from each other.

She let out a long sigh against his skin, so pale that it was almost tinted blue. Every cell in her body ached in pain, screamed out for relief of the agony Fratley had put her through. For two years, she had tried her best to help return his memories of their past life together. But in the end, he only left her behind for another.

"Its not your fault," he whispered, his chest vibrating with his words. "I know you're beating yourself up over it. Knock that shit off."

Freya's small frame curled in closer to his much larger body. "But it is," she replied. "If only I had tried harder, Sir Fratley would have-"

"Fratley would have done the same exact thing in the long run," Amarant blatantly told her. "Things like this happen for a reason."

Maybe he was right. Maybe it happened so she could cry all the tears out of her body. Maybe it happened so she would finally realize just how many years she wasted on him. Maybe it happened so that the two of them would end up like this.

She rested her dainty hand on his muscled one, which draped over her waist. In a swift movement, his was the dominant, covering her skin with his warm palm. It was as if he wanted to shield every part of her exposed to the evils of the world.

It was strange. Every situation where they had been in the same room together, or even in the same kingdom, hateful words had been spat and threats had been made. It was obvious to everyone around them that they abhorred one another to the point where, given the chance, they would slit the other's throat in their sleep.

Not even the world saving experience they shared brought the two together on friendly terms.

But now, something so small and unexpected brought them closer than they'd ever been, both physically and emotionally. She needed his comfort and, well, he needed something he'd been longing for his entire life. It just so happened that those needs were fulfilled at the same time.

"Thank you, Amarant," she muttered. Her eyes drooped half-way, a result of the tears that had been shed for more than four hours straight.

"Shut up."

The sun was beginning to set, sending an orange glow through the window. Amarant turned his head toward the light, watching the shadows of the contents of the room shift on the walls and floorboards.

Freya's eyes lifted to his face. How could it be that the surrounding lighting could make someone seem so…incredible? She gazed at his strong jaw line, his brightly colored facial hair, and finally, out of the covering of his hair, his eyes, which sparkled with a mysterious darkness that brought out the most curious side of her.

In a scene that, in any other instance, would've been horribly awkward, his eyes met hers. The world seemed to fall into a peculiar hush.

Both rolled to their sides, his hand on the back of her head, fingers tangling through her hair. Her hands rested on his beating chest, her fingernails tracing a tattoo, in which its purpose for obtaining had been long forgotten.

She inhaled, taking in a repressed scent that she'd secretly longed for for two dreaded years. No matter how many breaths she took, it didn't seem like enough to satisfy her.

Amarant himself had longed for parts of her over the years of absence. In a pathetic sort of way, he missed the insults and the glares. He missed laughing to himself while thinking how idiotic she was. He missed bits and pieces of her. But not her entire being.

But now, those feelings of resentment for the rat woman were different. To Amarant, it felt as if she were to remove herself from his side, he'd never see her again. That thought was what made the twinge of fear strike him. This fear, he hadn't felt since Kuja had been defeated.

It was the sort of fear he'd suffered while lying on nothing, the sense of helplessness deep in his gut. There wasn't a part of his body he could move. All he could see was the same woman lying next to him. With all the energy he could muster, he had given it to her. And she stood.

A soft snore brought Amarant away from his reminiscing. Her tiny frame moved with her sleepy breaths. Finally, she'd found an escape from the pain.

He tucked her head under his chin, somewhat enjoying the tickle he felt from the fur of her ears against his skin. She nuzzled her way closer to him, a light breath grazing his chest.

At least here, nothing could harm her. No person, beast, or even himself. He was going to make sure of that.


End file.
